'He does not deserve to be in Jackson': Trump's visit to civil rights museum met with protests

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and the NAACP hold a press conference instead of attending President Donald Trump's speech at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.
Annie Costabile

Sunglasses reflect the audience as a protester wears a Confederate battle flag sticker on her mouth as part of a silent protest to the current Mississippi state flag during the grand opening ceremony for the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Saturday in Jackson. A small group of protesters wore the stickers and stood silently holding an alternative flag during the program.(Photo: Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

JACKSON, Miss. — Reiterating their decision to boycott the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and flanked by foot soldiers of the civil rights movement, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and NAACP President Derrick Johnson on Saturday denounced the appearance of President Trump at the state’s new museum.

Lumumba called Trump's stances an affront to the movement’s goals.

“It is my appreciation for the Mississippi martyrs not here — the names both known and unknown — that will not allow me, that will not allow many of us standing here today to share a stage with a president who has not demonstrated a continuing commitment to civil rights,” Lumumba said during a news conference at the Smith Robertson Museum, about a mile from the state’s new civil rights museum and Museum of Mississippi History.

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who was scheduled to speak at the event at Smith Robertson, was not in attendance due to travel delays.

Johnson and Lumumba’s perspective represents the quandary that many activists and black Mississippians found themselves in after learning that Gov. Phil Bryant had invited Trump to the museums’ kickoff event.

Many had hoped Saturday’s ceremonies would be a unifier in a state that was ground zero for some of the pivotal events of the nation’s civil rights movement.

But word of Trump’s possible appearance left many progressives in a bind: They could either not celebrate the museum's opening, or they could attend an event that would provide a platform to a president whom many have called racially divisive — citing his statements in the aftermath of a deadly clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., his views against Black Lives Matter, his stance on undocumented immigrants and his opposition to the Affordable Care Act.

“We will never cede the stage to an individual who will fight against us,” said Johnson, the leader of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. “We will not allow the history of those who sacrificed to be tarnished for political expediency.”

During his speech, Johnson brought attention to the Smith Robertson Museum’s previous life as a segregated school for black children in the capital city.

“We will not allow the history of those who sacrificed to be tarnished for political expediency.”

NAACP President Derrick Johnson

Amos Brown, who sits on the NAACP board of directors, told the room of about 100 supporters that he received his schooling there. He said he doubted Trump’s visit to the civil rights museum would spur the president to think differently.

“Since Donald Trump has not shown up to learn about civil rights and make an apology for his wrongful accusation of the Central Park Five, since Donald Trump has not stood up for our civil rights (and) did not show up when we needed him to speak a word on behalf of blacks who experienced police brutality ... he does not deserve to be in Jackson for the celebration of the civil rights museum opening,” Brown said.

As Trump toured the museum, more than 100 demonstrators gathered on High Street and chanted, “No Trump, no hate, no KKK in the USA.”

Pacing up and down with a megaphone, Alvin Barnes worked hard to keep up the crowd’s energy.

“It’s nothing against the civil rights museum,” Barnes said. “The president doesn’t have initiatives to support civil rights. He’s attacked minorities, whether they be women or Muslims.”

Lumumba expressed hope that the public would still support the museum, which along with the Mississippi history museum cost the state upward of $90 million.

“Trump’s invitation shows the fight for civil rights and equality isn’t done,” said Talamieka Brice, who also helped organize the demonstration against Trump.

Holding a picture of activist Bree Newsome, who was arrested after scaling the 30-foot flagpole on the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse to remove a Confederate flag, Brice visualized her belief that while the museum marks part of Mississippi’s civil rights history, other struggles endure — namely, changing the state flag, the only one in the nation to still have a Confederate emblem.

President Donald Trump gives remarks on Dec. 9, 2017, at an event commemorating Mississippi's 200th year as a state and the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Mississippi Museum of History.
Justin Sellers, The Clarion-Ledger

Snow blankets the plaza of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, MS as workers prepare the grounds for opening day ceremonies on Dec 8, 2017. The museum opened on Dec. 9, 2017, visited by President Trump and other dignitaries.
Sarah Warnock, Clarion Ledger via USA TODAY NETWORK

NAACP President Derrick Johnson, right, speaks with Dr. Robert Smith, former president of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, after a speech on Dec. 9, 2017, denouncing the visit of President Donald Trump in Jackson, Miss., for the opening of twin history and civil rights museums marking Mississippi's bicentennial.
Jeff Amy, AP

Myrlie Evers, widow of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, left, and former Gov. William Winter, confer during the state's bicentennial celebration and the grand opening ceremony for the two museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Civil rights activist and widow of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers speaks at the grand opening ceremony. She said if the state can rise to the occasion, then "the rest of the country should be able to do the same thing."
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Various current and past public officials join Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, second from right, and Myrlie Evers, center, civil rights activist and widow of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, as they cut open the oversized ribbon symbolizing the opening of the two museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Mississippi flag demonstrators stand along a ledge at the Energy Plaza where the state's bicentennial celebration and the grand opening ceremony for the two museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, was held on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss. The protesters are seeking the removal of the Confederate battle flag emblem from the flag and support a different symbol entirely.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

A supporter of President Donald Trump stands outside the entrance of the state's two new museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in Jackson, Miss., hoping for a glimpse of Trump, who toured the museums and addressed a select group inside the facility's auditorium.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP